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Show wlLtsBEN AMES WILLIAMS -sjpi Jl!xblaiiSxw ... W.M.U. FEATURES I THE STORY SO FAR: Robin Dale, a young artist, toes to Moose Bay to see her flance, Will McPhail. Just after her boat, the White Queen, docks, Will Is ac. cldentally killed. Learning that Will's brother, Angus, blames her for his death, Robin goes to Angus' ashing cruiser to wait for him. She falls asleep and awakes later to find the boat at sea, bound for Labrador. Angus' crew consists of Pat Donohoe and a cabin boy named Romeo. Ro-meo. Robin and Angus are talking when another cruiser draws abreast of them. On deck is a man named Jenkins, who was a passenger on the White Queen. He raises his hat to Robin, then is gone. Now they are fishing for salmon. Now continue with the story. CHAPTER IX While Pat and Angus were working work-ing the easternmost pair of nets, Robin saw a large craft coming toward to-ward them from the west; and when it drew near she called Romeo on deck to see it. She thought in some surprise that he seemed uneasy at what he saw. The new boat ran Past them at reduced speed; and an officer Idoked at them for a long time through glasses, and she realized real-ized this was some kind of government govern-ment vessel. "It's like seeing a policeman," she decided. "When you're driving and see a uniform, you always slow down and feel guilty." Then she saw Angus leave the net and go alongside the cutter, at anchor an-chor to receive him. Pat Donohoe returned to join her here, and as he climbed aboard, Robin said quickly: "Listen!" The plane they had seen a while ago was returning. She heard it far away, and after a moment they here, this last three days. We'll move on tonight. Care to go ashore this afternoon?" "I'd rather watch you tag fish," she decided; and she went in the boat with him and Pat. From a distance dis-tance they saw Romeo run the cruiser cruis-er in to the landing and tie up there; and Angus said he was getting get-ting supplies of various kinds. "This is the last town of any size till Corner Brook," he explained. "He'll fill our water tanks, and so on." An hour or two later, Romeo brought the boat to anchor near them; and at sunset they went aboard her and got under way. Pat took the wheel, and Romeo turned to in the galley. Robin, in her stateroom, state-room, heard the chatter, of his activity ac-tivity there; and he began to sing in a rich, rather sweet tenor. When she came out into the cabin, she said to Angus: "He has a pleasant voice, hasn't he?" 1 me beforehand what you're going to do, and then, do it slow. I don't want to hurt anybody; but if you moved suddenly, and I didn't know what you were doing, I'm so nervous nerv-ous I might shoot first and ask afterward. after-ward. Okay?" McPhail nodded. "If I make a move without warning you, shoot and be darned! But you understand, I'll jump you if I can." "Sure. I would myself. If you do. you take your own chances. No hard feelings. That's understood." Mr Jenkins was streaming perspiration now; but the pistol in his hand was steady and ready. "I'm a pretty good shot, McPhail. I don't want to kill you. I'm in a devil of a hole' If I have to kill you to get clear, I'll do it; but I'd rather not." He added frankly: "There's some chance I won't get away. If I'm caught, I don't want a killing proved against me." "Naturally. You don't want to be ' hanged." Angus nodded. "Yes. Sometimes he plays the accordion and sings at the same time. I always enjoy it." He added dryly: "Unless Pat starts to sing too! Pat;s no songbird." The engine stopped. On any power-driven craft at sea, or on a plane in the air, the sudden silence of the motive agency is startling. Angus looked around in quick surprise; and then the door between engine room and cabin opened. Mr. Jenkins was there in the doorway. His checked saw its lights, low above the water, growing swiftly nearer, the roar of its engine loud and louder till the plane itself burst out of the purple dusk close by. Its pontoons touched; it taxied toward the coast-guard boat; they saw it fnoored astern. It was dark when Angus returned. A boat from the cutter fetched him; and they were all aft to meet him. The boat rowed away; and Angus i looked at them in the darkness and spoke briefly, in French. Romeo "Right. So if I have to start shooting, shoot-ing, I'll take a crack at your knee first. That will be just about as bad, for you, as killing you. Lots of men would as soon be dead as one-legged. It will be as bad for you, but not for me. They wouldn't hang me for shooting your leg off See what I mean? I'm just telling you, McPhail. I have to use you and your boat, but I don't want to hurt you." McPhail said: "What do you asked a question; Angus answered too casually; and Romeo and Pat j went below. When they were alone, Robin asked quietly: "What is it? What is happening?" "What? Oh, you mean the cutter? cut-ter? Why, they're on patrol all the time." She smiled in the darkness at his evasion, did not press the question; but afterward when they were under un-der way, she and Angus at table together, to-gether, Romeo in the galley, Pat in the pilot-house, she asked without warning: "Does Mr. Jenkins know they're watching him?" want?" "Why, right now, I want you and the young lady to go into the stateroom state-room there, without any fuss. I want you to promise to stay in there with her till I tell you to come out." He added, frowning a little at his own perplexities: "You see, McPhail, Mc-Phail, Romeo's got Pat Donohoe at the point of a gun, forward. We've got to tie him up. I shut off the engine en-gine till we could get things straight. I can take your word, but I can't take Pat's. That Irishman would swear to anything, and then kick me in the head the minute I turned my back. I'll have to see him tied ud 1 t . ' f , S f " . ',J'a"5C tne saw ms eyes turn sharply toward to-ward the galley where Romeo was busy. Then he looked at her again. "Miss Dale," he said, "talk can't mend a broken plate. .. But it can break one." "I'm sorry." She saw that there was real concern in him, doubt and uncertainty. When she woke next morning, the sun was high; and the cruiser was at anchor. She dressed and went on deck and saw that the small dinghy which they carried lashed in chocks on top of the cabin was gone, the falls dangling. She was alone. The cruiser lay in a wide shallow bay bordered by a sweep of wooded shore. In one place there were some cleared fields and a scattering scat-tering of houses and a dock and warehouse. This must be Beaver River. There were small fishing craft at anchor here, sharp-sterned, with stubby masts; there was one larger schooner; and she saw the before I can be easy in my mind. Romeo can't do it alone. So I want you to go in the stateroom with Miss Dale here, and promise to stay there, both of you, till I call you out." He looked at Robin thoughtfully. thoughtful-ly. "I don't want to hurt either of you," he said. McPhail considered. "Just now, you've got the bull by the tail and can't let go. You've got me under your gun here, and Pat under Romeo's Ro-meo's forward; but you're not getting get-ting anywhere. The boat's drifting. If we stay here long enough, the patrol boat will be back and pick us up." "Right," Mr. Jenkins agreed. . "So you'll know I'm pretty jumpy. You won't want to push me too far, McPhail." Mc-Phail." "Suppose we make a bargain?" Mr. Jenkins said wearily: "Now, McPhail, you know we can't bargain. bar-gain. You wouldn't take my word coast guard cutter coming up from the westward. She went below and lighted the gas stove and made tea and toast; and afterward she lay sprawled in the sun on top of the cabin. The coast guard boat had moved on to the eastward, was out of sight. Mr. Jenkins must have gone that way. Mr. Jenkins had not seemed to her like a violent man; and yet the drunken men on the dock at Moose Bay had been afraid of him. She herself had been afraid of him at Quai Rimouski: vpt ho hoH iinna xne plane they had seen was returning. re-turning. suit was stained with grease, sadly rumpled and soiled. He held a pistol pis-tol in his hand. Angus stood up sharply; but Mr. Jenkins said in gentle tones: "You might as well sit down, Mr. McPhail. While I explain." When Robin saw Jenkins appear from the engine room, she had a sense of familiarity, as though all this had happened before. Even the pistol in his hand seemed to belong for any promise I made. Let's just do what I say. You and Miss Dale go in the stateroom and promise to stay there while we fix Pat so he can't make trouble. We won't hurt him, you understand. Then I'll start the engine and we'll pull our freight out of here, and then we'll all calm down. I don't want anybody coming along and asking questions. Be sen-sible, sen-sible, McPhail." He added in a soothing warning: "And don't get any ideas, will you? I know you had guns aboard here; your shotgun, and Pat's rifle. But thpv'rp nnt u.hca nothing definitely alarming in all their times together, unless his suggestion sug-gestion that she join him on his trip toward Labrador, with Mrs. Freel to act as chaperone, was alarming. Angus came at noon with news. "Miss Dale, that cruise boat isn't stopping here. I'd forgotten they change their route on this trip. She's going home by way of Corner Brook. Nothing's expected here for ten days, except the schooners to take the salmon. I don't know what to do with you." He said doubtfully: "There's a steamer going on to Labrador Lab-rador tomorrow, but that won't help you get home." "I've certainly made a nuisance of myself. What can you do?" "We'll stop at Corner Brook ourselves our-selves within a week or so." His tone was tentative. i'Where's that?" "Newfoundland. Bay of Islands. Humber mouth. You can get a train there every second day, catch a steamer from Port aux Basques." "We're pretty far out of the world aren't we?" there. She decided that this was what you expected from Mr. Jenkins. Jen-kins. There was always a menace behind his gentlest word. You were always conscious, as it were, of a pistol in his hand. Perhaps that was why, when now the pistol actually appeared, she was not frightened. She knew quite well that he was the sort of man who might shoot you; but she decided de-cided that he would shoot only if he were badly scared, and he did not seem scared just now. Her lips were dry, and her palms were moist, and her heart was pounding; but though physically she was thus disturbed, mentally she was entirely calm. "Sit down, McPhail." The cabin suddenly was very small. It seemed crowded. Mr. Jenkins, standing in the doorway with the pistol in his hand, crowded it. But when Angus did sit down, there seemed to be more room. Mr. Jenkins seated himself on the bench across the table from Robin. This bench ran along the port side, and for much of its 1 PnfJfh it Corned nr- you left them. I took care of them. Don't start anything, McPhail." "You can't hide a boat this size where a plane can't see it. You're bound to be caught. So you won't do any killing." "Don't get me wrong, McPhail," Mr. Jenkins told him almost pleadingly. plead-ingly. "If I can get clear away by killing you, and can't do it any other way, I'll kill you in a minute." He added simply: "But if I do kill you and Pat, I won't kill Miss Dale. You might think of that." McPhail nodded, his lips tight. "I have thought of that. Very well, we'll go in the stateroom and stay there; but suppose I call to Pat first, tell him not to make a fuss? Will that help you?" "It just might. I won't trust him, anyway; but it may save him getting get-ting hurt." He opened the door beside be-side him. "Go ahead," he directed. "But McPhail be careful what you say." Angus nodded, and he raised his voice. "Pat, can you hear me?" The big Irishman's answer from iar out oi your world yes." "No. I mean out of other people's peo-ple's world. My world is where I am. Wherever I am is mine. For then. It's the place I belong in then." She smiled. "I don't mean to be philosophical; just practical. If you can stand being put out of your stateroom may I go on to Corner Brook with you?" He said, coloring slowly: "I think you know I'll do anything you want. I owe you anything." She spoke in quick reassurance. "Please, all that's forgotten. You were tired, distracted." He spoke gravely. "You're Well, you've a lot of steadiness' and honesty, and strength. I'm not good at putting things in words; but I want you to know that I'm glad my brother had the happiness of loving you before he died." She was at once warm with happi- j ness and choking with tears. There was nothing she could say. That j she would go on with him as far as ' Corner Brook was settled. She wked: "Will we stay here long?" "No. Their run had slacked' off I j a seat during meals, but it was a little lit-tle longer than the table. Mr. Jenkins Jen-kins sat on the clear end of the bench that extended toward the engine-room door, so he was free to move quickly if he wished. Robin was four or five feet away from him, the table between them; Angus sat at his desk to her right and behind her, on the starboard side of the cabin. "There," said Mr. Jenkins. "Now, McPhail, you know I don't want trouble. Give your word not to start anything?" "I won't promise anything blind," Angus told him. "What do you want?" Robin saw that Mr. Jenkins was perspiring a little. There were beads of moisture on his brow. She wondered won-dered inconsequently whether he had lost his hat. It had been rather a dashing hat, brown and fuzzy. She saw that the man was under a heavy strain; and just as she decided this, he told them frankly enough that it was true. "I hope you'll sit still and talk easy, McPhail," he said. "I'm jumpy. If you want to move, tell me iorecasue sounded surprisingly near. "Aye, sorr." "I'm making a deal with them, Pat," McPhail explained. "Let them tie you up. They'll be nervous and dangerous as long as you're loose. Take it easy, and do whatever they say. Nobody's going to get hurt if we keep our heads. Understand?" "I hear what you say, sorr; but shame it is, to be sure." "We've Miss Dale to consider." Pat submitted grudgingly: "Aye, sorr, if you say so." "I do say so. Miss Dale and I have given our word to be quiet, to make no trouble. You let them tie you up." "Aye, sorr." McPhail looked at Mr. Jenkins "All right?" "As far as it goes. But if he makes a move, you'll understand I can't take any chances. He's a powerful pow-erful man. Now you and Miss Dale go into the stateroom. You first, I don't want her crossing between us." "Very well," McPhail smiled grimly. "I'll stand up and walk directly into the stateroom." (TO BE CONTINUED) |